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Reading Knights
The Reading Knights are a member of the British Universities American Football League (BUAFL)'s Southern Conference-Southern Division, representing The University of Reading. The Knights are a founding member of the BCAFL's Southern Conference and are one of the oldest college American football teams in the UK. Team History BCAFL Era Before the 2007/08 season, Reading had suffered through twenty straight losing seasons and had never made it to the BCAFL playoffs (although they did play in the Southern Plate competition in 1999-2000) . Some of the Knights proudest moments of the past include the outstanding play of 'old-boy' Jihad Jaafar who represented the team for the Great Britain Bulldogs in both 1993 & 1994, as well as their previous best record teams of 99/00 & 02/03. Other notable moments in Knights history include sending former HC Drew Cameron to the GB Bulldogs team of 2004, while several players have also represented the Knights for the BCAFL Southern All-Star team, known as the Wildcats . BUAFL Era The Knights celebrated their twentieth season anniversary in 2007/08 by recording their best ever record, 5-3, which was their first ever winning record, as well as the first time the team surpassed the .500 mark. The team also achieved its inaugural playoff berth but were beaten away from home by the Hertfordshire Hurricanes. This season, kicker Eddy Loughton was chosen to represent Team South in the inaugural BUAFL MVP game, the league's new equivalent to the former Southern Wildcats side . The Knights repeated their strong performance in the 2008/09 season, again gaining a 5-3 record, setting a new club record for points scored in a single game against the BNU Buccaneers, while for the first time scoring more points than they had conceded in a season. Unfortunately, the Knights were unable to get their first post-season win, as they were defeated 8-6 by the UWE Bullets in a close encounter . The end of the season saw somewhat of an exodus by the coaching staff, with Head Coach Drew Cameron moving to pastures new. In their place the Knights have appointed ex-Coventry Jets coach Chris Hartley as Head Coach . Despite the exodus of coaches Cameron, Levy and Reid, the Reading Knights were successful again in the 2009-2010 season, achieving an all time best of 7-1-0 and qualifying for the playoffs for the third successive year, where they will meet the UWE Bullets . Latest Match Report Reading Knights started their 2009/10 BUAFL campaign with a 17-6 victory over the visiting Swansea Titans at Bulmershe Field. Swansea received the opening kickoff, but a sack of their quarterback by Thomas Ford and Rich Rainford followed by a large loss on a fumbled snap saw them pushed back close to their own goalline on fourth down. Disaster struck as they attempted to punt to get themselves out of trouble, as the ball sailed over the punter’s head and out of the back of the endzone for a safety; Reading took the early lead, 2-0. Both teams struggled to move the ball, thanks in part to first-game nerves and mistakes. The Knights defense was playing typically hard football, and sacks on consecutive plays by Henry Miller and then Ben Thompson and Rich Rainford helped hold the Titans offense in check. However, it was Swansea’s defense who had looked to take the momentum at the start of the second quarter as they pounced on a fumble just inside the Reading half. The Knights struck back right away though, as Matt Taylor intercepted a Swansea pass. Reading put together their first solid drive of the day, moving the ball well thanks to some barrelling runs from James Hollobone, but the drive ended on a fumble. Swansea came back with a lengthy drive of their own, which eventually ran out of steam just inside the Reading 20-yard line; the attempted field goal fell just short of the crossbar. The teams then traded interceptions – Taylor recording his second – before the half closed out. The Knights received the second half kickoff, but fumbled the ball away again, giving Swansea excellent field position. Unable to close on the Reading goalline, they lined up for a field goal only to see the kick blocked and recovered by the Knights. The Knights offense was having some success moving the ball, but it was their defense that took the momentum as Ollie Bristow intercepted a pass on the 50 yard line before racing down the sideline for the touchdown. Andrew Nielson’s point-after kick was good, and the Knights had opened up their lead, 9-0, as the game went into the fourth quarter. Again the team’s traded interceptions, with Taylor getting his third of the day, before the Knights put together the most impressive drive of the day. Moving the ball 71 yards in 12 plays, including a spectacular one-handed catch of a tipped pass by receiver Phil Giddings, they rounded off with a touchdown as Hollobone got his just deserts for an impressive rushing performance, crossing the line from a yard out. The two-point attempt – a pass from quarterback Ally Reid to Giddings – was good, and it was 17-0 to the Knights. If Reading thought the game was over, they were wrong, as Swansea overcame a first down sack by Oscar MacCormac and Thompson to move the ball inside the Reading 10-yard line, from where quarterback Chris Light connected with receiver Dean Jackson for the touchdown. The two-point attempt was no good, but things had tightened up a little, 17-6. Reading’s nerves were on edge as a bad punt snap on the following drive gave Swansea the ball back in the Knight half. The defense were not about to roll over though, and a sack by James Henderson and Miller, followed by a forced fumble by Bristow (recovered by Swansea), kept the visitors away from the goalline. In the dying seconds, it looked like Swansea might have scored again on a 17-yard pass, but the receiver landed just out of bounds in the corner of the endzone as time expired. 17-6 to Reading. Fixtures/Results 2008-2009 Season * 09/11/2008 UWE Bullets L 74 - 0 * 23/11/2008 Oxford Cavaliers W''' 0 - 6 * 30/11/2008 Cardiff Cobras L 31 - 19 * 07/12/2008 Tarannau Aberystwyth '''W 8 - 19 * 25/01/2009 Warwick Wolves W''' 0-27 * 15/02/2009 Oxford Cavaliers '''W 0-20 * 22/02/2009 BNU Buccaneers W''' 8-55 * 01/03/2009 Birmingham Lions L 1 - 0 * 08/03/2009 UWE Bullets '''Play-Off Round One L 6 - 8 Away games in Italics Fixtures/Results 2009-2010 Season * 15/11/09 Swansea Titans W''' 17-6 * 22/11/09 Birmingham Lions L 55-8 * 06/12/09 ''BNU Buccaneers '''W 34-6 * 31/01/10 Surrey Stingers W''' 25-6 * 07/02/10 Oxford Cavaliers '''W 34-7 * 14/02/10 Tarannau Aberystwyth W''' 14-0 * 21/02/10 Warwick Wolves '''W 46-0 * 28/02/10 Worcester Royals W''' 57-0 * 13/03/10 UWE Bullets '''Play-Off Round One Away games in italics Coaching Staff 2009/2010 Season Team Roster 2009/2010 Award Winners 2008-2009 Season Team Records By Season (Regular Season Only) * 1987-88 - 0-6-0 * 1988-89 - 0-8-0 * 1989-90 - 1-7-0 * 1990-91 - 1-7-0 * 1991-92 - 0-8-0 * 1992-93 - 2-5-1 * 1993-94 - 1-7-0 * 1994-95 - 1-5-2 * 1995-96 - 2-4-2 * 1996-97 - 1-6-1 * 1997-98 - 2-6-0 * 1998-99 - 2-5-1 * 1999-2000 - 3-4-1 * 2000-01 - 2-6-0 * 2001-02 - 0-7-0 * 2002-03 - 3-4-1 * 2003-04 - 0-8-0 * 2004-05 - 2-6-0 * 2005-06 - 1-7-0 * 2006-07 - 3-5-0 * 2007-08 - 5-3-0 Inaugural BUAFL Season * 2008-09 - 5-3-0 * 2009-10 - 7-1-0 Overall season record% (W-L-T): 0.248 / 0.709 / 0.049 References External links * BUAFL * Reading Knights Official Site Category:BUAFL teams